Opportunities for people to connect.
What you told us
You would like to see more programs and events to help people connect with one another. You’d specifically like support for volunteering, community, recreational, and art activities. You also told us you are proud of the Arts Precinct, and you’d like to see more arts and cultural activities for residents. You would also like to have a centralised place to share community information.
“Connecting after COVID-19. Events like street parties."
“Centralised place for all information - information in Southbank community is fragmented, incomplete, a lot happening, and we don't know about it.”
“The unique identity of the Arts Precinct could be further developed and extended across Southbank and the surrounding parks by including more public art that would be accessible to everyone. Make the area more enjoyable, by supporting more grassroots art and culture, by hosting free or affordable concerts and events, by having more initiatives from the existing cultural institutions that could host locals’ nights, workshops and so on."
What we’re doing
We support community organisations and projects through Connected Community Grants and Connected Neighbourhoods Small Grants programs.
The Christmas Collective Program is an initiative of the Christmas Festival. If you’d like to organise an event or activity that displays a distinctly Christmas theme, check out this grant.
We play an important role in the arts, fostering creative experimentation by encouraging and funding artists, promoting participation, and bringing art and people together. We support arts and cultural activities in Southbank in many ways.
We deliver some of the Christmas Festival in Southbank and music events as part of On the Road again and Music in the City with pop up celebrity performances.
We are presenting multiple premier events with extensive free programming throughout the year, including New Year’s Eve, Christmas Festival, Moomba, Melbourne Music Week, Melbourne Fashion Week, narrm ngarrgu Melbourne Knowledge Week and YIRRAMBOI.
Several events supported through Event Partnership Program (EPP) and are held in Southbank including: Kids Summer Festival and Kids Exhibitions, Queer, Kids Day Out, Southbank, Community Day, Victorian Disability Sport and Recreation Festival and Victorian Disability Sport and Recreation Festival. You can find out more about current events at What’s On page.
Our Arts Grants are available to artists and small to medium arts organisations from all backgrounds and abilities. Through these grant programs we’re supporting local artists across the city including people living in and presenting their work in and around Southbank.
The Creative Spaces website is a free resource for artist and creative industries that connects artists and creative practitioners with spaces, promotes artists and their work, and provides an index of live and virtual events.
We operate several recreation centres, offering a wide range of sports and recreational facilities and programs for people of all ages and fitness levels. You can also find information on sporting activities including cycling, walking, skating and more.
Our Active Melbourne App is free and includes on-demand and live virtual gym classes and tracking and personalised training programs.
We provide volunteering opportunities including information on how to connect with community based organisations. Check out the Community notice board for local organisations and event
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